WA man found not guilty in NYE reveller's 'one-punch' death

Brendon Bellottie walks free from the Geraldton Courthouse after being found not guilty of causing the death of Blake Dowding.

Sarah Taillier: ABC News

A Geraldton man has wept with relief after being found not guilty of causing the death of another man during New Years celebrations in Shark Bay last year.

Brendon Anthony Garic Bellottie, 32, was on trial in the Geraldton District Court charged over the death of Perth man Blake Paul Michael Dowding.

Dowding, 28, died in the early hours of January 1, 2013 in the carpark of the Heritage Hotel in Denham's town centre.

Prosecutors argued a punch thrown by Mr Bellottie caused Dowding to fall and hit his head on the bitumen, knocking him unconscious.

Ambulance officers tried to resuscitate him but he could not be revived.

Mr Bellottie was initially charged with grievous bodily harm, but that was later upgraded to unlawfully assaulting another who died as a direct or indirect result of the assault.

He pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Dance floor altercation spilled outside, court hears

Prosecution lawyers had argued that Dowding, Mr Bellottie and his brother Laurence were involved in an altercation on the dance floor inside the hotel which then spilled out into the car park.

The court heard the men were all intoxicated.

Mr Bellottie was alleged to have hit Dowding in the nose with such force that he was knocked unconscious and his heart stopped beating, but his lawyer John Kelly argued there was no concrete evidence to show the punch caused Dowding's death.

Mr Kelly said Mr Bellottie was provoked by Dowding and had acted in self-defence.

He said an existing heart condition was the significant contributor to Dowding's death, not Mr Bellottie's punch.

Doctor Dann Moss, who performed an autopsy on Dowding, told the court he could not come to a conclusion regarding the cause of his death.

A jury of 12 people took three-and-a-half hours to find Mr Bellottie not guilty of the charge after a 10-week trial.

The court room was packed on Friday with about 40 relatives of both men as the jury returned.

Mr Bellottie wept after the verdict was delivered and left the court without commenting.